Children of the Court
by Scrawlers
Summary: A short, mostly introspection piece in which The Judge reflects on how he views Mia Fey, Miles Edgeworth, Phoenix Wright, Franziska von Karma, and Godot.


**Disclaimer: **If I owned Phoenix Wright, Apollo Justice (the character) would not exist. . . . Oh, and kisses and hugs would be in the Court Record, so that Phoenix could have given Miles what he REALLY wanted to give him at the end of Justice For All, rather than Franziska's whip.

**Authors' Note: **This thought just occurred to me as I was replaying Justice For All (specifically, _Farewell, My Turnabout_), and watching how the Judge reacted to Phoenix and Miles. I remembered how he had spoken to Phoenix in the first case of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, with his comments of, "I never thought I'd be seeing you in a court room again like this . . ." And "It's been seven years, and I see you still haven't lost your touch." And if I remember correctly, he _also _said something to the effect of, "It seems you really do belong in a court of law."

And after everything Phoenix did to reform the court system in that game, I'm sure the Judge must've been proud.

Now, if I remember correctly, the Judge made a reference to his wife at some point. I can't remember if he ever said anything about having kids, and if he did, I apologize, but I'm disregarding that for right now. But really; who pays that much attention to the lovable, senile old Judge, anyway?

If anyone else has ever come up with this idea before, I'm sorry. I don't mean to tread on anyone's turf. This is just an idea that came to me, and so, I'm writing it.

Please read and review.

* * *

**Children of the Court**

The Judge was old.

He had arthritis, and when he was able to, he liked to be in bed by about nine o' clock. He'd served many years as a judge, working to deliver a fair verdict and justice, watching over various court proceedings with careful eyes. It was never good to be hasty, after all; he understood perfectly well that when he was judging a case, he was judging human lives, and the Judge was not about to make a mistake regarding something so precious.

Even so, for the majority of his judicial career, court was never out of the ordinary. He saw the ordinary cases, saw the ordinary proceedings, watched as defense attorneys and prosecutors came and went. It was a court of law, after all; there were no surprising twists, there were no sudden movements. It was real life, not a movie and certainly not television, and the law was cut and dry.

That, of course, changed when Mia Fey walked into the courtroom.

Mia Fey and Miles Edgeworth were the first people that sent a shock to the Judge's system. Both were rookies, both were trying their hardest to solve the case set before them, and both fought with such fiery passion that the Judge almost found himself more interested in them rather than the case. Mia was throwing curveball after curveball, sending the case spinning on its head and throwing away the metaphorical box, rather than just stepping outside it to think. Miles Edgeworth was trying to imitate the mannerisms of Manfred von Karma, but even so, there was a certain burning passion within his gray eyes – a certain honorable craving for the truth – that set him apart from the cold prosecutor.

Mia left the courtroom for awhile after that first case, though when she returned, the Judge saw that she hadn't changed. Mia made her comeback in the case that first introduced the Judge to Phoenix Wright, and she continued to appear before him after that, showing him time and time again that she would use everything she had to reach the truth – to get her clients proven innocent. The Judge imagined that, if he had a daughter, she would be like Mia; determined, passionate, brilliant, honest . . . She would be the daughter that would be the over-achiever, the straight A student, not for the honor and prestige, but simply because that was the way things were supposed to be. She'd be involved in every club, helping younger students and being a favorite of the teachers. If the Judge had a daughter, he decided, she would be like Mia Fey.

Of course, Miles Edgeworth hadn't disappeared from the radar, either. He was an up and coming prosecutor, gifted and brilliant, and each time he stepped into the Judge's courtroom, the Judge felt a certain surge of favoritism rise within him. He didn't let it affect his verdict, of course, but he couldn't help but feel a bit of affection for the strong and talented lawyer, the orphaned son of a brilliant defense attorney, the prosecutor who was kind to the hapless detectives and who would stop at nothing to arrive at the truth. The Judge didn't care about the rumors that circulated about Miles Edgeworth, because he knew that the rumors weren't true. He'd asked Miles, after all, and Miles had told him so – and the Judge knew that Miles would never lie. Like with Mia Fey, the Judge often imagined that Miles Edgeworth was the perfect example of what one of his sons would be like, had his wife ever given birth to a son. Another straight A over-achiever, one who kept all of his books neatly organized and all of his papers as well, one who had every assignment turned in on time, and who did every single problem – even those he was told he could skip. Miles Edgeworth would be the model son of the family, the one who strived to uphold the family name, and the one who would always make his old man proud.

Soon, though, another man entered the Judge's courtroom, picking up the legacy that Mia Fey left behind. Phoenix Wright was a defense attorney that – at first – the Judge thought wouldn't last; not when he was going up against Miles Edgeworth, not when he was merely a novice. But Phoenix proved himself to be a defense attorney that not only knew how to destroy the proverbial box (as well as the entire realm of logic), but also knew how to get to the truth. He was hapless, clumsy, and his best asset was his ability to point wildly, shout 'objection,' and then figure out what he was objecting to, but nonetheless, he had a good heart and a strong, accurate sense of justice. Not only that, but he was a match for Miles, and the Judge – knowing Miles Edgeworth better than most would think – could see that Phoenix was having a good effect on the formerly stoic prosecutor. The Judge soon decided that if he had a second son, that second son would be Phoenix; goofy, clumsy, but nonetheless smart and good-hearted. A foil for the perfect student of before.

And then there was Franziska von Karma. True, she was a bit intimidating when it came to her whip, and it was true that it hurt. Nonetheless, she was as brilliant as she was feisty, and despite her insistence that a perfect win record was all she cared about, the Judge knew that she cared about more than that. She wanted to make her father proud. She wanted to show up Miles Edgeworth. She wanted to prove that she was more than a little girl who followed along in the shadows of others. She was ambitious, wild, strong, and intelligent; she was everything the Judge envisioned a second daughter of his would have.

Finally, there was Godot. Originally, the Judge wasn't too sure about what to think of the mysterious prosecutor, other than the fact that he was laid back and drank too much coffee. But as time went on, and Godot showed more of his personality, the Judge could imagine him amongst the others, leaning against the counter in the kitchen, drinking his coffee while Phoenix and Miles got into an argument, Franziska tried to beat them both, and Mia rolled her eyes while getting her schoolbag together. Even after he learned that Godot committed murder, the most he could feel was just a twinge of sad disappointment. He almost wanted to scold Godot, and tell him that he was disappointed, but that nonetheless, he'd always be the Judge's son.

Fortunately, he'd managed to remind himself that Godot wasn't actually his son before he said anything out loud.

Nonetheless, as crazy as he knew he was for it, the Judge often imagined the five of them to be his children – the children of the court. When he saw Phoenix and Miles fire objections back and forth at each other in the court room, it was nothing more than an argument between two brothers who liked to pretend that they weren't close. When Franziska visited the court room just to glower at "Mr. Phoenix Wright" and "Mr. Miles Edgeworth," he imagined her as the little sister who really just wanted to be a part of what her older siblings were doing, rather than actually wanting to whip them and cause them pain. When Godot would chuckle and call Phoenix "Trite," the Judge couldn't help but see an older brother who had no greater pleasure than to tease his younger brother.

And when Mia Fey's spirit worked through Maya Fey or Pearl Fey in order to help Phoenix, the Judge saw an older sister who wanted to look out for her younger sibling, guiding him on the right path in any way that she could.

Perhaps the Judge was senile or insane in the way he considered those five attorneys, but really, he didn't think so, especially as he watched Phoenix and Miles battle it out before him. After all, no matter how old they got, he'd always be older, and so they'd always be his children of the court.

"OBJECTION! Wright, those claims are absolutely ridiculous!"

"OBJECTION! You're only saying that because _you're _ridiculous, Edgeworth!"

"OBJECTION! Do you have any evidence to back up that claim, Wright?"

"Well, I . . ."

"I thought so."

_Especially, _the Judge sighed as he watched them bicker on, the case momentarily forgotten, _when they act like it. _


End file.
